The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE National Insurance Board yesterday graduated 28 new inspectors in an attempt to increase customer compliance in meeting current or outstanding contributions.

At a graduation ceremony at the BCPOU Hall yesterday morning, Labour and National Insurance Minister Shane Gibson told reporters that NIB is looking at ways to improve its contribution collection process by seeking to increase compliance by Bahamians paying their current or outstanding arrears.

“Most businesses are very dynamic, and National Insurance is included in that,” he said. “When NIB first started at that time they didn’t charge the kind of contributions that they knew they had to charge to make the plan sustainable. They knew that at the time. Over the years we’ve been reluctant to increase contributions at a rate that would be comfortable for the amount of obligations that National Insurance would have. That’s why we try to find good, prudent investments to give us good returns, and we’ve done well with that over the years.

“Eventually and gradually over time we just have to find more ways to increase the revenue streams of the board, and gradually as the economy could absorb it we have to look at increasing contributions, but we can’t do it too drastically. Persons have lots of obligations, you have lots of things coming on stream and so we want to make sure take all of that into consideration and not pretend as though we operate within a vacuum.

“The biggest thing is compliance. If we could have more persons become compliant, where persons pay into NIB what they’re obligated to pay, that would help us a lot. We have to look at gradually modifying the amount of contributions persons pay and looking for good sound investments that would give us greater return.”

Mr Gibson told the graduates they have a “heavy responsibility to increase compliance and collect more contributions and ultimately fulfil NIB’s mandate.

“You must increase your contribution intake,” Mr Gibson said. “Full compliance must be your overreaching objective, as there can be no greater concern. You must be resolute. You must do your job in securing full compliance. Family, friends, political allies, no matter who they are, you have a responsibility to make sure they take care of their national insurance obligations.”

“(Your) role is so central to the sustainability to the programme, that apart from the director, medical officer and legal advisor, you are the only statutorily designated post in the National Insurance Act,” Director of National Insurance Rowena Bethel said.

The 28 new inspectors join a team of 46 inspectors and six managers, according to Mr Gibson.